AP —CONCORD, N.H. U.S. Representative Liz Cheney portrayed her shocking defeat as the start of a more significant phase in her political career as the sun sank in Wyoming. She called in Abraham Lincoln, who went on to become one of the country's most successful presidents despite losing the House and Senate elections.However, in the days afterwards, potential backers in crucial states have publicly expressed doubt about a Cheney presidential bid, even if it were only intended to prevent Donald Trump from retaking the presidency.
Republican voters and local leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, three of the most important states in presidential politics, feel the soon-to-be-unemployed congresswoman has no chance of being relevant in a 2024 presidential primary, let alone a chance of winning. Some supporters worry that if she runs, she might end up supporting Trump.Such is the enormous political challenge facing Cheney, a Republican hoping to turn a 37-point home-state defeat into a nationwide effort to derail Trump's presidential aspirations. What she wants to do has never been done before.
Micah Caskey, a Republican state representative in South Carolina, said, "The Republican Party is a lot more diverse than it's given credit for, and there will be some people who find her, and her message, appealing, but that is far from saying that there would be a warm reception, or a large reception." "I don't think a Liz Cheney run would be possible."
Cheney's staff shifted remaining campaign cash into a new organization she titled "The Great Task"—borrowing the term from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address—in the hours after she conceded the Wyoming congressional primary to an obscure Trump supporter. She vowed to spend the weeks leading up to the midterm elections in November fighting Trump supporters who are still spreading the myth that the 2020 election was rigged.Cheney said on NBC's "Today" show, "I will be doing whatever it takes to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office." She admitted that she is considering running for president in 2024. I'll decide in the upcoming months, she said.
Daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, Cheney, 56, hasn't ruled out running for office in 2024 as either a Republican or an independent. However, people close to her now think that if she ran as an independent, Democrats would likely support her more than Republicans, undermining her objectives. She would therefore almost definitely run as a Republican if she did.
Her campaign staff predicts that Cheney will enter the 2024 Republican primary as the unquestioned front-runner in the anti-Trump lane, which may also include former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Maryland governor Larry Hogan, and Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger. They point out that the Cheney name is well-known worldwide and that she has a strong national fundraising network that helped her unsuccessful reelection campaign raise more than $15 million. She would also have her father's backing and the support of George W. Bush, who hosted a fundraiser for Cheney last autumn and with whom she still has a tight relationship.
She will continue to take the lead in the House inquiry investigating the Jan. 6 uprising, which will include additional hearings in September.
Despite these circumstances, Cheney has not received much support in the states that will likely decide the next GOP presidential nominee.
At the Iowa State Fair, which has become a must-stop for presidents and presidential hopefuls ever since the state started hosting the country's first presidential primary fight fifty years ago, voters were openly celebrating her defeat.
The Iowa Republican Party is celebrating today. Liz Cheney is leaving the room! Debra Wyna, a 57-year-old retired salon owner and GOP volunteer from the Des Moines region, yelled. Liz Cheney is a creature from the swamp.
While less direct than Wyna, the other GOP booth visitors were just as disdainful of Cheney's political aspirations.According to Janet Diers, a 67-year-old retired special education teacher from rural western Iowa, she betrayed the Republican Party by voting to impeach President Trump. "I'm never going to vote for her," she added.
Despite having "great regard" for Cheney, Gentry Collins, a seasoned national and Iowan Republican operative who is opposed to Trump, said he doesn't see how she could run a successful presidential campaign.
"From whence are the votes cast? The anti-Trump vote may be aggregated by her, but Collins, a former political director for the Republican National Committee, said it was insufficient. She's the Republican I like, but I don't see a chance.
It was largely the same in New Hampshire, which annually holds the second Republican primary election in the country.
Although the state takes pride in welcoming presidential candidates every four years, Republican Governor Chris Sununu, who has made fun of Trump, turned down the chance to welcome a potential Cheney campaign when it was offered.
"The governor hasn't thought about or considered who would run for president in 2024, "Ben Vihstadt, a spokesman for Sununu, said. "He is wholly preoccupied on the midterms, which are in less than 100 days, and is adamant that any time spent thinking about 2024 is a waste of time.
The race for the early presidential primaries has been ongoing for several months. Furthermore, the initial Republican presidential announcement can occur at any moment. Trump is debating whether to announce his candidacy before or after the November elections.
For several months now, Republican presidential hopefuls have flocked to Iowa and New Hampshire. Former Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton, as well as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, are among the guests. Although he hasn't yet made an appearance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is another frequently mentioned name by local Republican primary voters.
Late last year, Cheney made a speech in New Hampshire in which she said that Trump was at war with the law.
The South Carolina state representative Caskey thinks that while Trump would be vulnerable in a small Republican field, a wide Republican field might help him win his party's nomination once more by splintering the anti-Trump vote.
Caskey stated, "I don't think Donald Trump has a certain road to victory, but I think he is the odds-on favorite to win if he runs. "I believe his chances of winning increase the more candidates who participate,"There is lots of chatter about presidential contenders in New Hampshire, with the exception of one, according to Matthew Bartlett, a seasoned Republican operator in the state who formerly worked for Trump's State Department but left following the January 6 uprising.
Nobody is mentioning Liz Cheney, according to Bartlett. "I don't believe she is competent,"
Approximately 7 out of 10 Republicans nationwide still back Trump. That number may have increased in the days following the FBI's search warrant execution at his Florida resort, but detractors point out that Trump's numerous legal troubles might ultimately hurt his reputation. In early public polls, Cheney is grouped toward the bottom with Pompeo and Haley, among others.
Voters frequently concur with political experts.
On a recent trip to Conway, New Hampshire, Claire Potter donned a Cheney T-shirt to "show my admiration as a Democrat" for the stance she has taken against Trump. Additionally contributing $25 to the Cheney campaign was Potter, a history professor at The New School in New York.
Just don't count on her supporting Cheney in 2024.
Potter remarked, "I don't hope she runs for president." "In terms of preventing Trump from occupying the White House, I believe that could be pretty tricky. However, I have faith in her political judgment regarding her next move.
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